Very much being filed under speculation, but sensible speculation, it seems like US mobile studio Backflip Studios is being acquired, or in talks to be acquired.

The gossip has started because its CEO Julian Farrior was supposed to be giving one of his excellent talks at the GDC Smartphone Summit entitled The growing importance of mobile advertising in gaming.

However, it's been cancelled, with rumours suggesting that despite Farrior attending GDC, he's pulled out, citing confidence issues about giving out too much of Backflip's current audience numbers.

High worth company

Of course, Backflip is one of the best success stories when it comes to building up a massive community based on free, ad-funded smartphone games.

Last time we heard, it had clocked up 80 million downloads and around 25 million monthly active users. It also ranked #9 in our top 50 developers of 2011 list.

Certainly, it will be fascinating to see whether the rumours and true, and more importantly, if so, how much the price will be.